When your pulmonary care requires additional specialists, we are there for you
Lung Nodule and Lung Cancer Screening Offered
Mount Sinai Doctors-Morningside, Pulmonology provides care and services for all types of lung diseases and sleep disorders. Our physicians offer personalized treatment options for lung conditions including lung nodules, asthma, pneumonia, and lung cancer. Our team combines state-of-the-art technology with exceptional clinical experience for the diagnosis and treatment of a wide variety of lung diseases.
We offer the following services:
Our pulmonologists and sleep medicine specialists are dedicated to providing you with the very best care possible.
Lung cancer screening saves lives. When lung cancer is found at an earlier stage, when it is small and has not spread, it is more likely to be treated successfully. Mount Sinai Morningside is using two powerful programs to detect lung cancer before patients have symptoms: Low-Dose CT Screening and Incidental Lung Nodule Detection.
In the United States, lung cancer is the second most common cancer. It is also the leading cause of cancer deaths. That is why Mount Sinai Morningside is making sure we find lung cancers both when we are specifically looking for them, and when we are not, through our Low-Dose CT Screening Program and Incidental Lung Nodule Detection Program.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends yearly lung cancer screening for people who meet all of these criteria:
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network also recommends screening for various occupational exposures, for example, asbestos, arsenic, and diesel fumes. You should speak with your physician and share your occupational exposure to determine if screening is appropriate for you.
Mount Sinai Morningside offers low-dose CT (LDCT) screening to identify lung abnormalities in patients at high risk for developing lung cancer. This test has been very successful in detecting cancerous nodules in their earliest stages, even before symptoms appear, when the disease is easier to treat. Research has shown that low-dose CT screening saves lives.
Typically, symptoms of lung cancer do not appear until the disease has progressed and is not easily curable. Studies show that by catching nodules early in higher risk people, annual LDCT scans can reduce the risk of dying from lung cancer.
Speak with your primary care physician about whether this test is appropriate for you. Patients with a referral may call 212-523-8672, and press 5 when prompted, to make an appointment. Medicare, Medicaid, and other insurance plans often cover lung screenings for eligible patients. The scan is quick and painless and will be read by a skilled, board certified radiologist at Mount Sinai Morningside.
This program is set up to alert our team if a lung nodule—a small, abnormal lesion, or spot—was found incidentally, which means during a scan ordered by a physician who was looking for something else.
All scans at Mount Sinai Morningside are read by specially trained, board certified radiologists. They report on everything that they find—not just what the ordering doctor was looking for specifically. In some cases, the radiologist will find a lung nodule. When that happens, you will be referred to one of our pulmonologists, who are experts in analyzing lung nodules and ruling out or diagnosing lung cancer.
When a lung nodule has been reported from a scan at Mount Sinai Morningside, a specially designed software system will alert the lung nodule team.
A letter is sent to both the provider who ordered the scan and the patient, with instructions on how make an appointment with our team of lung nodule experts. We feel is it very important for you to follow up, and will reach out again if you or your physician do not respond.
At your appointment, a lung nodule specialist will review your medical history and determine if there is any reason to suspect that the nodule is cancerous. The team may recommend continued surveillance or more tests, based on evidence-based practices. All recommendations are reported to you and your primary health care provider.
If you are ultimately diagnosed with lung cancer, you may be referred to a thoracic surgeon, who may treat you by removing the cancer with minimally invasive robotic or video-assisted surgery.
Our team is dedicated to providing the most comprehensive patient care possible.
Javier J. Zulueta, MD Pulmonary Specialist Professor, Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai 440 West 114th Street Suite 610 New York, NY 10025 Phone: 212-523-8672
Emily Martinez Practice Manager
Monica San Juan Program Navigator
